I’ve always said I am a better person, father, leader, and husband because of my wife. I call it out in my book, and I tell friends and family all the time – if you see an improvement in me, it’s probably because of her.
Her words of wisdom this week went something like this, “When life handed you obstacles, it didn’t make you bitter; it made you better.”
I’m not saying she’s the original person to come up with this line – I’m sure it’s possible that she picked this up somewhere along the way – but nevertheless, I hadn’t heard it before, and it proves the adage that two heads are better than one. If she hadn't taught me, I wouldn't have known about this incredible sentence.
One person can only learn and be exposed to so much – but when you benefit from learning from the second primary person in your life, you suddenly have a new superpower. You have the knowledge and experiences of TWO people because of ONE relationship. It’s like compound interest for your brain, because that second person is also learning from other people! You’ll gain more knowledge by listening to more people because they listen to more people. It sounds obvious, but you spend the MOST time with your spouse (and your kids) – so make sure you’re listening!
Most of us are likely familiar with Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Successful People” Stephen Covey spoke about how 1+1 could equal 3 or more in his book. I think this is what he was talking about, and I’m pretty sure his wife was the one who taught him that. 😊
Anyway, I digress. The point of this post is to illustrate my wife's lesson in her comment, “When life handed you obstacles, it didn’t make you bitter; it made you better!”
We each have the opportunity to control how we choose to react to a situation. Should I freak out? Will I choose to stay calm, cool, and collected? Will I choose to see this as a curse? As a blessing and lesson I can learn from? --- We can choose how we react!
It’s up to you and me how we decide to let obstacles impact us. We can panic, freak out, and blame everyone else… or we can approach the situation with a “Hold my beer” attitude and tackle it head-on in ways that will eventually improve us; to make us better people, better parents, better spouses, and better leaders.
If you see me hit an obstacle, please do me a favor… Hold my beer…